On May 20th, when I was ten years old, I had tonsillitis.
It was probably due to sheer excitement and nervousness over the fact that my mother and father were getting married.
On the way to the wedding at Tibirke Church, my mother and grandfather stopped at the avenue leading up to the Sandflugtsmonumentet (The Sand Drift Monument).
They were early, so there was time for a bit of tobacco.
The portal-like ‘Sandflugtsmonumentet’ (The Sandrift Monument) stands atop a small hill in Tibirke, a miniature Amon Sûl.
Designed by Elias David Häusser and Didrick Gercken in 1738, it documents the successful efforts to combat sand drift that plagued the region from the 1500s to the 1700s.
Work to combat the drift began in 1724. Locals and soldiers from Copenhagen worked together to dig trenches, build fences, and plant willow, cherry, oak, and beech trees along with hardy grasses like marram to stabilise the dunes.
This hard work led to what would become Tisvilde Hegn, a massive protected forest.
From a distance, or to a child that hasn’t learned to read, the inscriptions look like as runes: three languages, Danish, Latin, and German, testify to the period’s polyglossia.
Today Tisvilde Hegn stretches along a roughly 7 kilometer coastal strip and covers around 1,300 hectares.
Side 1 – Danish: Gram and Røhl
Original inscription
OM. NOGEN. SPØRGE. VIL. OG. HAFVER
LYST. AT. VIDE.
PAA. HVEM. I. DENNE. SAG. MONARCHEN
KUNDE. LIDE.
DA. HAFVER. AMTMAND. GRAM. EI
HVILET. MED. SIT. ØYE.
OG. RØHL. SOM. VEL. FORTIENT. ER
LØNNET. FOR. SIN. MØYE.
Modern Danish
Hvis nogen vil spørge og har lyst til at vide, hvem monarken kunne stole på i denne sag, så har amtmand Gram ikke hvilet sit øje, og Røhl, som vel fortjent er, er blevet lønnet for sin møje.
English
If anyone wants to ask and would like to know whom the monarch could rely on in this matter, then Amtmand Gram has never let his eye rest, and Røhl, as is well deserved, has been rewarded for his toil.
“Amtmand” was a royal official in charge of a county (amt), roughly a county governor or prefect. “Not rested his eye” means he never let his vigilance slip, keeping constant watch over the work. The original Danish text rhymes in pairs (vide/lide, øye/møye).
Side 1 – Danish: The sand drift
Original inscription
HER. SAAE. DET. ILDE. UD. FOR. NOGLE
TIDER. SIDEN.
MED. SAND. VAR. ALTING. SKIULT. OG
FAREN. VAR. EI. LIDEN.
SANDBIERGE. VOXTE. OP. FLØY. FREM
NAAR. VINDEN. KOM.
OG. DREF. SAA. MANGEN. EEN. FRA. HUUS
OG. EIENDOM.
HVORFOR. KONG. FREDERICH. TIL
LANDETS. GAVN. OG. BESTE.
LOD. GRIBE. VERKET. AN. MED. VOGNE.
FOLK. OG. HESTE.
OG. LOD. SAA. VIDT. MAN. KOM. DEN. LØSE
GRUND. BESAAE.
AT. DER. HVOR. INTET. VAR. OPVOXER
GRÆS. OG. STRAAE.
VOR. SIETTE. CHRISTIAN. VOR
HERLIGHED. I. NORDEN.
VED. HAM. DET. HELE. VERK. TIL. ENDE
BRAGT. ER. VORDEN.
O. AT. HANS. ÆT. OG. SÆD. SAA. LÆNGE
BLIFVE. MAAE.
SOM. MAND. KAND. STØF. OG. SAND
OMKRING. VED. HAFVET. FAAE.
Modern Danish
Her så det slemt ud for nogle år siden. Alt var dækket af sand, og faren var ikke lille. Sandbjerge voksede op og fløj frem, når vinden kom, og drev mangen en fra hus og ejendom. Derfor lod kong Frederik, til landets gavn og bedste, gribe værket an med vogne, folk og heste, og lod den løse grund tilså, så langt man nåede, så der nu vokser græs og strå, hvor der før intet var. Vor sjette Christian, vor herlighed i Norden – ved ham er hele værket blevet bragt til ende. Gid hans slægt og efterkommere må bestå lige så længe, som man kan finde støv og sand rundt omkring ved havet.
English
Not long ago, things looked grim here. Everything was buried under sand, and the danger was far from small. Mountains of sand rose up and swept forward whenever the wind came, driving many a person from house and home. That is why King Frederik, for the good and benefit of the country, had the work taken in hand with wagons, men and horses, and had the loose ground sown as far as one could reach, so that grass and straw now grow where nothing grew before. Our Christian the Sixth, our glory in the North – through him the whole work has been brought to completion. May his line and offspring endure as long as dust and sand can be found around the shores of the sea.
Side 2 – German: Gram and Røhl
Original inscription
ES. DAEMPFT. DEN. FLIEGE-SAND.
AUF. KOENIG. FRIDERICHS. UND. CHRISTIANS
GEHEISS.
DES. AMPTMANNS. FRIDERICH. VON. GRAMS
GETREUER. FLEISS.
UND. ROEHLS. GEUBTE. HAND.
1738.
Modern German
Es dämpft den Fliegesand auf König Friedrichs und Christians Geheiß des Amtmanns Friedrich von Grams getreuer Fleiß und Röhls geübte Hand. 1738.
Modern Danish
Flyvesandet dæmpes på kong Frederiks og Christians befaling af amtmand Frederik von Grams trofaste flid og Røhls øvede hånd. 1738.
English
The drifting sand is tamed, at the command of Kings Frederik and Christian, by the faithful diligence of Amtmand Frederik von Gram and the practised hand of Røhl. 1738.
Side 2 – German: The sand drift
Original inscription
SCHAU. LESER.
DIESES. GRUNE. LAND.
SO. DU. BIS. AN. DIE. SEE. SIEHST. LIEGEN.
WAR. NEULICH. NOCH. EIN. MEER
VON. SAND.
SO. WO. DER. WIND. SICH. HINGEWANDT.
SANDWELLEN. LIES. WIE. BERGE. FLIEGEN.
DIE. UBERSCHWEMMTEN. FELD. UND. WALD.
STROHM. AECKER. WIESEN. DOERFFER. HUTTEN
SAH. MAN. IM. SANDE. GANTZ. VERSCHUTTEN.
DAS. UBERSTROHMTE. FELD. DROHT. ALSOBALD
DEM. NECHSTANLIEGENDEN. MIT. GLEICHER
SANDS-GEWALT.
BIS. KOENIG. FRIDERICH. DER. VIERTE
ZU. ERST. DER. NOHT. HALF. AB.
DEM. SANDE. FESTE. GRAENTZEN. GAB
UND. HIN. UND. WIEDER. IHN. MIT. GRUNER. KLEIDUNG
ZIERTE.
WORAUF. SEIN. GROSSER. SOHN. DER. SECHSTE
CHRISTIAN.
DAS. FEHLENDE. HINZUGETHAN.
BIS. ER. DAS. SCHOENE. WERCK. VOLLFUHRTE
DAS. ITZT. DER. SAND. DER. SEELAND. WOLT
VERHEEREN.
ALS. EIN. FRUCHTBAHRES. FELD. MUSZ. VIELE
THIERE. NEHREN.
VEREHRE. SO. DER. LANDES-VAETER
WEISEN. RAHT.
DEN. GOTTES. MACHT. GESEGNET. HAT.
UND. WUNSCHE. DAS. IHR. STAM. AUF. ERDEN
MAG. WIE. DER. SAND. AM. MEER. UND. UNVERGAENGLICH
WERDEN. &c.
Modern German
Schau, Leser, dieses grüne Land, so du bis an die See siehst liegen, war neulich noch ein Meer von Sand. So, wo der Wind sich hingewandt, Sandwellen ließ wie Berge fliegen, die überschwemmten Feld und Wald. Strom, Äcker, Wiesen, Dörfer, Hütten sah man im Sande ganz verschütten. Das überströmte Feld droht alsobald dem nächstanliegenden mit gleicher Sandsgewalt. Bis König Friedrich der Vierte zuerst der Not half ab, dem Sande feste Grenzen gab und hin und wieder ihn mit grüner Kleidung zierte. Worauf sein großer Sohn, der sechste Christian, das Fehlende hinzugetan, bis er das schöne Werk vollführte, dass jetzt der Sand, der Seeland wollt’ verheeren, als ein fruchtbares Feld muss viele Tiere nähren. Verehre so der Landesväter weisen Rat, den Gottes Macht gesegnet hat, und wünsche, dass ihr Stamm auf Erden mag wie der Sand am Meer und unvergänglich werden.
Modern Danish
Se, læser: dette grønne land, som du ser strække sig helt ud til havet, var for nylig endnu et hav af sand. Hvor vinden end vendte sig hen, lod den sandbølger flyve som bjerge, der oversvømmede mark og skov. Vandløb, agre, enge, landsbyer og hytter så man blive helt begravet i sandet. Den oversvømmede mark truede straks nabojorden med samme sandets vold. Indtil kong Frederik den Fjerde som den første afhjalp nøden, gav sandet faste grænser og hist og her prydede det med grøn klædning. Derpå føjede hans store søn, Christian den Sjette, det manglende til, indtil han fuldførte det smukke værk, så det sand, der ville hærge Sjælland, nu som en frugtbar mark må ernære mange dyr. Ær derfor landsfædrenes vise råd, som Guds magt har velsignet, og ønsk, at deres slægt på jorden må blive som sandet ved havet og uforgængelig.
English
Behold, reader: this green land, which you see stretching all the way to the sea, was until recently a sea of sand. Wherever the wind turned, it sent waves of sand flying like mountains, which swallowed field and forest. Streams, fields, meadows, villages and cottages were seen buried entirely in the sand. Each field once overrun at once threatened the next with the same violence of sand. Until King Frederik the Fourth was the first to relieve the distress, gave the sand firm boundaries and here and there adorned it with a green covering. Whereupon his great son, Christian the Sixth, added what was still lacking, until he completed the fine work, so that the sand which would have ravaged Zealand must now, as fertile ground, feed many animals. Honour, then, the wise counsel of the fathers of the land, which God’s power has blessed, and wish that their line on earth may become like the sand by the sea, and everlasting.
Also see:
‘The Time Is Out of Joint’
Triptychs for Solar Eclipses
Danish Artist ~ Kasper Bergholt
